Picture: AIMMAA official Alan Fernandes refereeing at the 2016 Bangalore Amateur Open Championship As we approach the 2016 IMMAF World Championships of Amateur MMA, Daniel Isaac, National Commissioner and Founder of the All India Mixed Martial Arts Association (AIMMAA), penned a personal message to Amateur MMA competitors, featured below, expressing his passion for athletes to remain wise and protect themselves as developing contenders. The 2016 IMMAF World Championships take place from Tuesday, July 5 – Sunday, July 10 at the Las Vegas Convention Center, in conjunction with the 5th Annual UFC International Fight Week and Fan Expo. [caption id="attachment_9618" align="alignright" width="349"]
AIMMAA Founder Daniel Isaac[/caption] Dear Amateur fighters, It’s very tempting and easy for an up-and-coming MMA fighter to jump at the first pro opportunity thrown at him / her, but there’s more to know and understand before you take that call for your first pro MMA fight, here’s why… Definition of an Amateur MMA fighter: one who trains and competes at ‘amateur’ MMA championships and tournaments where he/she is required to pay a registration fee to participate and winning at such amateur championships does not award the fighter cash prizes or fight purses. The purpose of competing at such events is for the fighter to build a solid base and competition experience. An Amateur MMA fighter should compete in anywhere between 10 to 50 amateur MMA bouts and review their win/ loss / draw ratio before considering to enter the pro MMA circuit. In India the AIMMAA hosts numerous Amateur MMA championships across the country all year round, some of the leading annual Amateur MMA championships are BodyPower India Open MMA Championships, Bangalore Open MMA Championships, Super Fight Championships Delhi, and UnderDoggs MMA Delhi. This year the Super Fight League has also begun promoting amateur MMA bouts on their undercards. Competing at AIMMAA sanctioned Amateur MMA championships will help you, the Amateur MMA fighter, to build your fight record and prepare you for your decision whether to move to the pro ranks sooner or later. Excluding the above mentioned MMA promoters, in India there are many ‘shady’ promoters conducting shows across the country. Their goal is to make as much money off their sponsors and pay as little as possible to the fighters. Such promoters have a set number of fighters who they are training and promoting, and looking to match with ‘easy’ opponents whom they consider ‘cans’. They usually lure amateur fighters who they feel would provide easy wins to their fighters. The amateur fighters who have small records feel honoured when they get that call from such promoters offering them money which they have never been offered before. Amateur fighters beware. This is very dangerous for you. Once you compete in a pro MMA bout you cannot compete in an Amateur MMA championship again. The likes of MixedMartialArts.com, Sherdog.com and Tapology.com pick up the fight-results of all such events and you are immediately listed as a pro. More often than not, amateur fighters after such events are not paid their promised fight money, sometimes they are paid just half or a quarter of what they were originally promised. The biggest yearly event for Amateur MMA fighters worldwide is the “IMMAF World Championships” held every year in July in Las Vegas. If you have even one pro fight on your record you will lose the opportunity to compete at this, the biggest event for Amateur MMA fighters. I personally feel that a good national level MMA fighter should compete at least once at the World Championships and make a decision based on his/her performance. Dear amateur fighters – protect your Amateur MMA records , don’t make foolish decisions just because of a little pocket-money. Train hard, build your record gradually and only when your coach and manager feels you are 100% ready for pro MMA should you make that big decision, all the best! [/spb_text_block]]]>
'Protect your Amateur status', says AIMMAA's Dan Isaac
